Overmars and Petit quit Arsenal in £30m deal

LONDON lost three world-class midfielders to Spanish clubs yesterday when Arsenal sold Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit to Barcelona for a total of £30 million and France captain Didier Deschamps left Chelsea for Valencia.

There was confusion over the breakdown of the Barcelona deal with Overmars claiming on his web site that he was valued at £25 million. An equal split with Petit seems more likely. Arsenal decided to follow club policy and not give a breakdown of the fee and Barcelona president Joan Gaspart revealed: "I have agree a pact of silence with Peter Hill-Wood [Arsenal's chairman]."

Overmars, 27, has travelled to Spain with Petit flying in from his honeymoon in Barbados to undergo medicals and complete the deal today.

Overmars was delighted with the transfer, saying: "I'm so excited. Barcelona are arguably the biggest side in Europe and I've always dreamed of playing for them. I can't wait to pull on the famous shirt and play my first game. It's going to be quite a challenge and I can't wait."

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was reluctant to release Overmars and Petit, 29, but was powerless to prevent the pair leaving with so much money on offer.

Dein said: "We have known about Barcelona's interest in Overmars and Petit for some time. Right from the start Arsène Wenger has given us a list of players he wanted to keep and considered priceless. We have adhered to that.

"In the end the decision to release them was down to Arsène. We are sad to see them go, but I don't think that too many Arsenal supporters are surprised that they have. In an ideal world nobody wants to see players of this calibre leaving but it is not an ideal world and now we just wish them well.

"They have both had three great years at Highbury and done very well for themselves and us. But the days of players staying at one club long enough for a testimonial are all but gone. You just won't get that longevity any more because the stakes are high and top players are ready to move on when they feel the time is right for them.

"We had these two under contract for years yet but you have to weigh up their ambition with camaraderie in the dressing room and Arsène fully understands that situation."

The departure of Overmars and Petit weakens Arsenal's midfield but Wenger could use the windfall to return to Bordeaux with an increased offer for France striker Sylvain Wiltord. Arsenal's £12 million valuation was below Bordeaux's asking price of £15 million, but that difference could now be resolved.

Another option for Wenger would be to make a last-ditch attempt to capture Barcelona's Boudewijn Zenden from under the noses of Lazio. The Dutch winger would be a natural replacement for Overmars and could be available after his proposed move to Italy hit problems.

Zenden admitted: "There have been some delays in the negotiations and it could take a few days to be solved."

But if Arsenal fail to land Zenden or Wiltord, their chances of making a good start in the Premiership would be severely dented.

Wenger was already keen to strengthen his midfield before the departure of Petit and Overmars, but has managed to sign only Cameroon international Lauren for £7 million and French midfielder Robert Pires from Marseilles for £5 million.

They are hoping to resurrect the ill-fated deal to bring Brazilian Edu to Highbury next week, but it may collapse if the Corinthians player cannot solve his passport problems.

Meanwhile, Deschamps made a surprise move to European Cup runners-up Valencia for £2.3 million.

Deschamps, 31, informed Chelsea he wanted to quit the club for personal reasons, having joined them from Juventus on a free transfer last season.

Colin Hutchison, managing director of Chelsea, said: "Perhaps because of the length of time he spent in Italy, he didn't adapt to the English game as he would have liked.

"He sat down with me three months before the end of the season and explained his reasons, which were personal. It certainly wasn't that he didn't like Chelsea or that he didn't like English football. I still believe if he had stayed at Chelsea he would have done better in the coming season. Didier is a great professional and still a very good player, as he proved in Euro 2000. But he said if the right opportunity came, would we allow him to go. Reluctantly, I agreed to that."

Chelsea have a readymade replacement in Mario Stanic, signed from Parma for £5.6 million last month.